Oddballs galore with newest Autocult releases!

Thanks for this post, Randy.  I have enjoyed your fine pictures and, I'm sure, will be back again.  Keep 'em coming!    David H  

Can't help but wonder where Autocult finds these things! Some of their previous models  are so off the wall that I can understand how you can get hooked on them. Randy, I bet they make fantastic conversation pieces when company arrives!

Fantastic photographs.  Am I right in thinking that the Di-Dia was commissioned by Bobby Darrin from some form of Chrysler base - or perhaps he may have owned it 'after the fact' ?

Charles, Bobby Darin did own the car 'after the fact". The car has resided in the the Museum of Transport, in St. Louis County, Missouri, for many years.

Oh my, I love all these AutoCult oddballs. Still planning to get the GAZ hovercraft and Steyr Radio Reiss.

Certainly different! These really catch your attention. I'm not sure just what that Maybach is used for but I would not mind it in my collection.

Trust them to do something interesting.  I just got the GMC l'Universelle Motorama truck/van. Very well done.  Thanks for posting these.

@kenspear They sure do! I look forward to the day when I've got the space to put them all out. I got hooked when they were just making micro cars. Now they're making trailers and trams!

@charles-rockett Here's what Autocult has shared on the history of this vehicle:

The most expensive Car in the World!

The headline should correctly read: The most expensive ‘custom-made’ car in the world! Under this designation the car entered the ‘Guinness Book of Records’.

In 1961 the musician Bobby Darin bought the road cruiser, which went down in history as ‘DiDia 150’. At that time, he paid the amount of 150,000 U.S. dollars – about 1,5 million U.S. dollars at today’s values. Of course, the question arises, what was it that made the car so expensive? It was simply its uniqueness paired with a luxury that was completely new for a car at that time. The metallic red paint of the road cruiser, which was mixed with the dust of industrial diamonds, was a superlative. The electrical opening of the doors was not done by using a ‘boring’ handle, but by the touch of a button. The flush-mounted wipers recognized the beginning of rainfall and did its task automatically. The luxurious ambience was extended to each of the four seats - all passengers had their own radio loudspeaker and; as smoking was still fashionable; their own ashtray with a lighter! Among all these ‘show-off’ features the standard air condition faded into the background. Responsible for this abundance of luxury was textile designer Andrew DiDia. In 1953, the 35-year-old commissioned the company Clarkaiser Customs in Detroit. Overall the sophisticated, custom-made production and adaptions of the individual features took seven years – initially it was assumed that the production time would be only two years! It should not go unmentioned that only four men did the job.

In 1960, when Andrew DiDia received his unique car, he got an invoice of exactly 93,647.29 U.S. dollars. But this amount should not have caused the textile designer any headache, as at that time he already had a buyer on his hand with Bobby Darin, who bought the car and drove it until 1970.

@david-green Here's how Autocult describes it (keep in mind they're translating from German):

The only 20 year lasting history of the company Maybach is superlative-studded. This is aptly exemplified by the answer of Ing. Karl Maybach to the question of whether he would exhibit the cheapest car at International Motor Show in Berlin in 1921. He answered that question with full conviction: “No, the most expensive one!”

He sticked to the motto that only the best was good enough for his automobiles. Technically complex, far-sighted and progressive, Maybach set standards in the car scene. Maybach built the first German-produced car which was fitted with breaks on all four wheels and developed remarkable engine displacements – ultimately 7.9 liters. As a consequence thereof, the Friedrichshafen-based company also built the first standard V12 cylinder engine for passenger cars. 200 horsepower was another value that made the competition sit up. But in 1931 this company philosophy was challenged with the development of a 6-cylinder engine. This model series, called ‘W6’, was replaced by model series ‘DSH’ in 1934. Written-out the abbreviation stood for “Double-Six-Half” and related to a halved 12-cylinder engine. Admittedly, initially sounding a little bit bumpy but since the designation for the 12-cylinder engine was ‘DS’ or written out ‘Double-Six’ quite plausible. The 6-cylinder engine had a displacement of exactly 5,184 cc, 130 hp and accelerated the car to about 135 km/h, depending on which bodywork was fitted. As with the “bigger” models, the customer was of course also able order his desired bodywork setup for the DSH. It has been proved that two- and four-seater convertible bodywork, but also Pullman versions and versions with a detachable roof above the front seats were manufactured by known body makers.

One copy of the total 34 – other sources mention 50 – vehicles, with a very special bodywork, is part of the exhibition in the Technik Museum Sinsheim. The once proud and imposing luxury vehicle was converted into a mobile saw vehicle in the difficult period after World War II. Until 1986, it was owned by Mr. Georg Ewald, who worked with it till his old age. With his last will he donated the ‘Maybach Saw’ to the museum, but ordered that it should remain and be exhibited in unrestored condition.

@randyrusk Thanks Randy for posting this detailed history.

Drat (my credit card speaking) now I want to buy this car.  I will keep this history with the model.